Chasing Ice: Documenting Melting Glaciers | Shocking Visual Evidence of Glaciers Melting


An EIS team member provides scale in a massive landscape of crevasses on the Svina Glacier in Iceland.

In 2005, National Geographic challenged the celebrated environmental photographer James Balog to visually capture the rapid pace at which our polar ice is melting so the world could witness the evidence of global climate change. Balog’s Extreme Ice Survey relied on untested, time-lapse cameras that miraculously recorded the chronological disappearance of our ancient mountains of ice.

chasing ice, svina glacier

Strikingly beautiful glaciers, from Chasing Ice.

Chasing Ice documents the dangerous journeys of Balog’s small, brave Arctic crew to fulfill this monumental task, which delivers spectacular photography and converts Balog from a skeptic to a man with a mission. Whether you see this film for the photography or to observe our planet’s transformation, Chasing Ice is a fantastic, sobering adventure with the power to melt doubts. A

chasing ice, solheim glacier

The Solheim Glacier in 2006.

chasing ice, solheim glacier

Three years later, in 2009, what’s left of Solheim Glacier, with a line showing its previous height.